Buttons c. 1937

John H. Tercuzzi made this watercolor drawing entitled 'Buttons'. Tercuzzi, who lived between 1855 and 1995, carefully rendered a collection of buttons in a circular arrangement. During Tercuzzi’s long life, the symbolism and function of buttons evolved. Once strictly utilitarian fasteners, buttons became decorative objects that could signify status and identity. Consider the button at the center, which features two figures, perhaps children, within a gold and purple setting. What stories do these figures suggest? How do they function as tokens of nostalgia or innocence? Do these buttons represent a longing for the past? Some of the buttons seem to mimic jewels and precious objects. This hints at the ways in which even mundane, functional items can embody cultural values.